Stellaris megastructures - a quick guide (2024)

So, you want to know about Stellaris megastructures? These gargantuan feats of engineering were first introduced in the first Stellaris DLC – Utopia – and range from habitats and gateways, to more specialised structures such as Dyson Spheres, giant art galleries, and a device that can destroy the entire galaxy.

Some megastructures – like Ring Worlds – will spawn naturally even if you don’t own any of the expansions, and you’ll be able to repair them if you have the right tech. You won’t be able to research and build any new ones though apart from gateways without some DLC. Quite a few wereincluded in Utopia, for example, but MegaCorps, Federations, and Nemesis introduced new options as well.

Other expansions, such as Distant Stars and Synthetic Dawn, also interact with the megastructure mechanics in some way – the former introduced the L-Gate cluster, for example, while the latter will cause more natural Ring Worlds to spawn in a specific place. We’ve put together this quick guide to Stellaris megastructures, we hope you find it useful, although for a more thorough breakdown you can also refer to the official Paradox Wiki, which we’ve drawn a lot of information from.

Stellaris Megastructures

Here is a list of all buildable megastructures in Stellaris:

  • Gateways
  • Habitats
  • Ring Worlds
  • Dyson Sphere
  • Science Nexus
  • Sentry Array
  • Matter Decompressor
  • Mega Art Installation
  • Strategic Coordination Center
  • Interstellar Assembly
  • Mega Shipyard
  • Aetherophasic Engine

Stellaris megastructures – basics

You will need a construction ship to build the initial stage of all megastructures. Many require multiple stages to complete, but you only need the ship for the initial stage.

You can also find ruined versions of most of the megastructures in the game if you explore the galaxy. To repair these pre-existing structures, you only need the Mega-Engineering technology.

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Depending on galaxy generation settings, you can also have up to 8 naturally spawning ring worlds in the game in various states of repair.

Only one multi-stage megastructure – apart from the Ring World – can be built per empire. Repairing a pre-existing megastructure won’t trigger any achievements once finished, but it also doesn’t count against the build limit either. Neither does conquering such structures from other empires.

Megastructure-related bonuses:

  • The Master Builders ascension perk increases the build speed by +50%
  • The Living Metal Mega-Construction edict increases the build speed by +50%
  • The Architectural Renaissance unity ambition also increases the build speed by +50%
  • Using the Isolated Contingency Core relic greatly increases the build speed by +300% for 10 years

Stellaris megastructures – Gateways

You don’t need any expansions to make use of gateways – abandoned ones can be found dotted through-out the galaxy, and you can build your own once you’ve researched the right technology.

An exception are the L-Gates, which lead to the mysterious L-Cluster – you need the Distant Stars expansion for those.

It’s worth noting that the technology will only appear if you’ve encountered an abandoned gateway. If you switch these off during galaxy generation, you will never be able to build your own gateways.

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Each system can only have one gateway, but it can be constructed in systems that also have other L-gates or natural wormholes.

Gateways can travel to any other gateway, so long as the empire that owns the destination gate has its borders open and is not at war with the travelling fleet’s empire. Normal empires cannot close their borders to fallen empires, therefore your gates can always be accessed except while at war with them. Claims can be extended through gateways, however only if the borders are open on the side that’s getting claimed.

Stellaris megastructures – Habitats

Habitats are artificial living spaces that are constructed above planets. And have a 70% base habitability rating for every species in the game.

You need the Utopia add-on to construct them, although a work-around is to purchase the Federations expansion as that comes with the Void Dweller origin – which also unlocks the ability to build habitats.

Other than gateways, they are the only other single-stage megastructures in Stellaris, and are built in one go with a construction ship. They can only be built around a regular planet without any anomalies.

Stellaris megastructures – multi-stage

There are ten other megastructures in Stellaris, all multi-stage, and all requiring different expansions. There are less rules and restrictions around them compared to habitats and gateways, although a system can only possess one of these structures at a time.

It is also only possible to build, upgrade, or restore one of these structures at a time, although there are some things that can increase this cap. Please consult the Paradox Wiki for more detailed notes on costs, build times, megastructure benefits, as well as other miscellania.

Here is a breakdown of which megastructures can be built with which Stellaris expansion:

Utopia

  • Ring World
  • Dyson Sphere
  • Science Nexus
  • Sentry Array

MegaCorps

  • Matter Decompressor
  • Mega Art Installation
  • Strategic Coordination Center
  • Interstellar Assembly

Federations

  • Mega Shipyard

Nemesis

  • Aetherophasic Engine

We’ll keep this guide up to date as any new content for megastructures gets added via future patches or expansions.

Stellaris megastructures - a quick guide (2024)

FAQs

How do you make megastructures faster Stellaris? ›

Although there are no Stellaris Tradition trees focused on Megastructures, the construction time can be reduced with the Living Metal Mega-Construction Edict, the Architectural Renaissance Unity Ambition, or the Master Builders Ascension Perk.

How many megastructures can you build in one system? ›

Only one multi-stage Megastructure can be built per system and only one multi-stage Megastructure can be constructed or upgraded at a time. All multi-stage Megastructures can only be built once per Empire, except for the Ring World. Matter Decompressors are built around black holes and drain minerals from it.

Can you destroy your own megastructure Stellaris? ›

AFAIK, you cannot remove a megastructure from a system. A game I ran a couple months ago I had a black hole system with a ruined science nexus in it a few jumps from my home system. I was excited for the black hole because I was thinking about the matter decompressor I would build there for those sweet sweet minerals.

How fast is fastest Stellaris? ›

Just fired necroids up and man is the fastest speed setting is almost too fast. From fast being roughly 3 days per second to fastest being 30 days per second is quite a jump. Granted this is at game start but it will take some getting used to.

Do habitats count as megastructures? ›

Here is a list of all buildable megastructures in Stellaris: Gateways. Habitats. Ring Worlds.

Can you only build one mega shipyard Stellaris? ›

You can only build one of each megastructure, how ever you can take megastructures from someone else. or find ruined versions in addition to building your own. IIRC the megastructure build capacity only limits the number of things you can build simultaneously.

Can you build multiple ring worlds Stellaris? ›

Yes you can built more ring worlds at the same time. Each fill in project counts as 1. You can multiplex these, until you hit your maximum number.

Can you take over the galaxy in Stellaris? ›

If you have the Nemesis DLC, you can proclaim the Galactic Imperium and take over, if not: You can become the sole member of the Council if you're powerful enough to vote everyone else out, changing the council size to one even has "I Am the Senate" as its descriptor.

What does the interstellar assembly do in Stellaris? ›

Interstellar Assembly

They can provide substantial increases in diplomatic weight, opinions from other empires and envoys for diplomatic missions.

What does Ring World do in Stellaris? ›

If you use an ascensionist build and ascend your ringworlds, they're also the best worlds for food production, and also energy if you're gestalt ascensionist. There's no other way to boost 100 farmers or technicians with a single planetary ascension.

Will humanity ever build a Dyson Sphere? ›

Although Dyson sphere systems are theoretically possible, building a stable megastructure around the Sun is currently far beyond humanity's engineering capacity.

What is the max planet capacity in Stellaris? ›

Planet capacity is capped at 500.

Is there enough material in the solar system to build a Dyson Sphere? ›

However, if one were to destroy and strip mine the entire inner solar system - Mercury, Venus, Earth, and Mars - enough material could be gathered to create the sphere with a radius of the Earth-Sun distance, 3 [m] thick.

How do you increase production Stellaris? ›

We can increase out output by:
  1. Building Research Labs buildings on our colonies.
  2. Using Construction Ships to build Research Stations around certain planets or stars.

What megastructures can you build in vanilla Stellaris? ›

Megastructures
  • Humanoid Empire constructing a Dyson Sphere.
  • Real scale of a Gateway.
  • Real scale of a Hyper Relay.
  • Mammalian habitat central complex.
  • Mammalian orbital ring with shipyard module.
May 20, 2024

What is living metal used for in Stellaris? ›

Living metal is extremely useful when you are building MegaStructures and GigaStructures(mod) to increase the speed of building. I hope for as much as possible when I start a game. Learn how to play it.

References

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